The Subway Super Series will have no shortage of opportunities for NHL scouts eyeing the draft.
The tournament, pitting the best of each of three Canadian Hockey Leagues against a Russian opponent composed of that countries best junior aged players in a six game set, is set to boast plenty of talent for the 2015 NHL Draft.
The Ontario Hockey League’s entry features Future Considerations’ top ranked skater in Connor McDavid, the wunderkind prodigy whose innate three points-per-game pace with the Erie Otters who has drawn him serious comparisons to Sidney Crosby.
McDavid isn’t the lone prospect ranked in the first round included in the OHL’s entry as Travis Konecny (5th), Lawson Crouse (6th) and Dylan Strome (7th) are also to be included.
Konecny, drafted first overall by the Ottawa 67’s in 2013, has fully grown into the hole Sean Monahan left at the center and in the leadership department when the Calgary Flames drafted him. Wearing the ‘C’, Konecny is now ‘the man’ in Ottawa and has 11 points in 15 games.
Crouse has had to play a similar role, filling in for the absent Sam Bennett who is also currently on injured leave with the Calgary Flames as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Crouse, like Konecny, hasn’t blown the doors down statistically thus far, with seven goals and 10 points in 14 contests.
Strome, on the other hand, has played alongside McDavid for most of the year and has accumulated a lions share of points thus far, scoring at two-plus point per game pace — 12 goals and 33 points in 14 games.
Other OHL draft eligibles include London Knights center Mitch Marner, who’s blitzed out of the gate with 22 points in 16 games, Peterborough Petes pivot Hunter Garlent, who standing at just 5-foot-8 is at a point-per-game through 12 matchups.
Garlent’s teammate Matthew Spencer joins Mitchell Vande Sompel as the only draft eligible defenseman on the squad, and Barrie Colts goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is the only puck stopper eligible to be selected by an NHL team next June.
The QMJHL’s entry is just as saturated with draft eligible talent, boasting a total of 11. Future Considerations’ 14th and 18th respectively ranked skaters Jeremy and Nicolas Roy (no relation) headline a group laden with high end skill.
Jeremy Roy, a defenseman, has caught the attention of scouts dating back to last year when he posted an impressive 14 goal, 44 point campaign from the back end. The talented, smooth skating defenseman has started this season equally as impressively, slapping together three goals and 18 points in just 20 games.
His namesake, Nicolas Roy, a former first overall QMJHL draft pick, hasn’t come out of the gates nearly as fast, disappointing so far with just four goals and nine points in his first 19 matchups. However, the powerful 6-foot-4, 190-pound winger could still prove to be a force with all the tools necessary to take over a hockey game.
Other 2015 eligible forwards include Gatineau’s Alexandre Alain, Drummondville’s Joey Ratelle, Rimouski’s Anthony Deleca, Chicoutimi’s Alexandre Ranger, Val d’Or winger Anthony Richard and Shawinigan pivot Anthony Beauvillier.
On the back end, Gatineau’s Alexandre Carrier, Baie Comeau’s Nicolas Meloche and Acadie Bathurst’s Guillaume Brisebois round out the draft eligibles on the blue line alongside Jermey Roy.
Surprisingly, the Western Hockey League’s entry doesn’t feature a single draft eligible despite strong starts from Mathew Barzal, Paul Bittner and Nick Merkley.
The opposing Russian troops were named Friday, with an overwhelming number of 2015 eligibles named to the squad. In fact, of the 33 players named, only seven have already been drafted. Headlining the draft eligible group are winger Evgeny Svechnikov and defenseman Ivan Provorov, ranked 15th and 30th respectively by Future Considerations.
Svechnikov’s stock in particular has been rising of late, as he brought with him to his first year of CHL hockey a pro-ready frame, being listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. He’s dominated with it early on, posting ten goals and 24 points already in just 18 QMJHL games. Svechnikov will have the eye of scouts when he suits up for his country next week, for certain.
Provorov on the other hand, is also playing in his first CHL season, paired with fellow 2015 top prospect, Ryan Pilon, on the blue line of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
On said blueline, Provorov has managed an impressive eight goals and 19 points in his first 18 WHL games. Provorov too carries with him a pro-sized frame a 6-foot, 201 pounds. Although the scouts will be busy with all the draft eligible talent in their own backyards next week, some special attention will no doubt be paid to Provorov.
With action getting underway Monday in Saskatoon, one thing is certain about this years edition of the Subway Super Series, like all its predecessors, it’s sure to entertain with its exclusive look into hockey’s future.
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